Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Cuts Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich reduced its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 128,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,184 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Sysco were worth $9,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in Sysco by 74.0% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Sysco by 74.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 419 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SYY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In related news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,926,560. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY stock remained flat at $77.07 during mid-day trading on Friday. 2,062,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,884,593. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.68. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $62.24 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The company has a market capitalization of $38.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.32 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 105.22% and a net margin of 2.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. Sysco’s payout ratio is 48.90%.

Sysco Company Profile

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and distribution of various food and related products to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other segments.